ANIMATION CONTROL METHOD FOR MULTIPLE PARTICIPANTS

• US 20080158232A1
• Filed: 12/21/2007
• Published: 07/03/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Pfaqutruma Research LLC
• Original Assignee: Brian Mark Shuster
• Inventors: Shuster, Brian Mark
• Granted Patent: US 9,569,876 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/474
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/57 Simulating properties, behaviour or motion of objects in the game world, e.g. computing tyre load in a car race game A63F13/56 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6607 for animating game characters, e.g. skeleton kinematics
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6623 for animating a group of characters
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 13/40 of characters, e.g. humans, animals or virtual beings
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 19/003 Navigation within 3D models or images
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2200/04 involving 3D image data

Abstract

A computer system is used to host a virtual reality universe process in which multiple avatars are independently controlled in response to client input. The host provides coordinated motion information for defining coordinated movement between designated portions of multiple avatars, and an application responsive to detect conditions triggering a coordinated movement sequence between two or more avatars. During coordinated movement, user commands for controlling avatar movement may be in part used normally and in part ignored or otherwise processed to cause the involved avatars to respond in part to respective client input and in part to predefined coordinated movement information. Thus, users may be assisted with executing coordinated movement between multiple avatars.

Claims

1. A method of managing a computer-implemented animation process for multiple participants, comprising:

animating motion of respective ones of modeled avatars in a modeled VRU environment each independently responsive to respective ones of multiple separate command streams provided to a host computer;

initiating a coordinated motion sequence at the host involving the modeled avatars;

in response to initiating the coordinated motion sequence, animating coordinated motion between the modeled avatars to provide animation data, such that at least one of the multiple separate command streams controls at least two respective ones of modeled avatars that, prior to initiating the coordinated motion sequence were independently animated in response to respective ones of the multiple separate command streams; and

providing animation data for display of an animated scene depicting the coordinated movement.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising animating the coordinated motion in part according to predefined coordinated motion information defining motion of one or more of the modeled avatars in relation to motion of a lead one of the modeled avatars.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising configuring control of the coordinated motion sequence at the host with reference to predefined rules for prioritizing and combining the multiple separate command streams.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising animating the coordinated motion in part according to predefined characteristic motion information for actions to be performed by the modeled avatars.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising animating the coordinated motion using characteristic digital armature movement data for defined avatar actions selected from the groups consisting of:

social gestures, actions performed for games of sport, dance, and sexual activity.

7. The method of claim 5, further comprising modeling movement of the first avatar and the second avatar for the coordinated movement scene according to a predefined rule set for generating movement of the second avatar coordinated with movement of the first avatar.

8. The method of claim 5, further comprising, responsive to selection input from one of the first client and second client, selecting the predefined rule set from a plurality of rule sets each defining a different coordinated motion relationship.

9. The method of claim 7, further comprising selecting the plurality of rule sets including rule sets for simulated sexual activity.

10. The method of claim 7, further comprising selecting the plurality of rule sets including rule sets for simulated sports.

6. In a computer-generated virtual reality process, a method for coordinating motions of a first avatar and a second avatar;

the method comprising;

processing, at a computer host, a first input stream from a first client for controlling modeled movement of a corresponding first avatar and an independent second input stream from a second client for controlling modeled movement of a corresponding second avatar independently of the first avatar, prior to initiation of a coordinated movement scene;

upon initiation of a coordinated movement scene involving the first avatar and the second avatar, designating at the host a first control function for the first input stream and a second control function for the second input stream, wherein the first control function includes partial simultaneous control of both the first avatar and the second avatar, and the second control function includes partial control of at least the second avatar contemporaneously with the first control function;

modeling movement of the first avatar and the second avatar for the coordinated movement scene according to the first control function responsive to the first input stream and according to the second control function responsive the second input stream to provide scene output data; and

providing the scene output data for display of the coordinated movement scene.

11. A computer system for assisting users executing coordinated movement between multiple avatars in an online virtual reality simulation, comprising:

a computer host operating a virtual reality process in which multiple avatars are independently controlled in response to client input, the host providing coordinated motion information for defining coordinated movement between designated portions of multiple avatars;

a host module responsive to detect conditions triggering a coordinated movement sequence between two or more avatars;

a host animation engine operative to animate coordinated movement of the two or more avatars in which client input streams for controlling avatar movement are used to cause the two or more avatars to respond in part to respective ones of the client input streams and in part to predefined coordinated movement information that defines movement of one or more of the avatars relative to a lead one of the avatars.

12. The system of claim 11, further comprising an initiation module operative to monitor client input streams from multiple clients to detect an event that triggers a coordinated motion sequence for two or more avatars controlled by different clients.

13. The system of claim 11, further comprising a configuration control module operative to process the client input streams to provide a control input to the host animation engine.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the control configuration module is operative to access a database of control data containing rules for prioritizing and combining client input.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein the host animation engine is configured to access a library of motion data to animate the coordinated movement.

16. The system of claim 11, wherein the host animation engine is operative to calculate positions of digital armatures for the avatars for each frame of a motion sequence, and to place resulting armature positions may be placed into a sequence buffer.

17. The system of claim 16, further comprising a VRU engine operative to access the sequence buffer to generate animation data for respective remote clients.

18. The system of claim 17, further comprising an output portal operative to direct the animation data to the respective remote clients.

19. A computer-implemented method for providing coordinated avatar animation to a plurality of clients, comprising:

receiving client input from multiple remote clients;

configuring a client control stream for control of a plurality of avatars to process the client input and provide a control stream to an animation process in which client input received from a first client is designated as dominant to temporarily control, at least in part, an avatar normally controlled using client input received from a second client only;

generating, in the animation process, modeled movement of the plurality of avatars using the control stream; and

generating a scene for portal output to respective ones of the multiple remote clients.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising monitoring the client input to detect a triggering event for initiating a coordinated motion sequence as a condition precedent to configuring the client control stream.

21. The method of claim 20, further comprising, if no triggering event is detected, continuing normal avatar operation in which input from each client controls motion of a respective one of the plurality of avatars.

22. The method of claim 19, further comprising resuming normal avatar operation in which input from each client controls motion of a respective one of the plurality of avatars after completion of a temporary period for performance of generating modeled movement of the plurality of avatars using the control stream.

23. The method of claim 19, further comprising generating modeled movement of the plurality of avatars using a defined motion sequence for animating a digital armature in addition to the control stream.

24. The method of claim 23, further comprising changing the defined motion sequence in response to user input indicating selection of a different sequence for animating a different action.

25. The method of claim 19, further comprising generating modeled movement of the plurality of avatars using predefined coordinated relationship between a dominant avatar and a submissive avatar in addition to the control stream.